Pinewood Studios Expansion Plan Rejected

Local councils cite harmful effect on green belt

LONDON — Pinewood Studios’ £200 million ($305 million) plan to double its capacity at its location 20 miles west of London has been nixed.

South Buckinghamshire Council decided Wednesday that the expansion of the studio facilities was inappropriate in the “green belt,” which is a strip of rural land around a city that is given enhanced legal protection.

The project included building stages and streetscapes at the site in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire.

Pinewood had claimed the “development is needed to maintain and expand U.K. film, television and screen-based industries.”

Reps from Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Studios, 20th Century Fox and Marvel had written to the council in support of the proposal.

Neighboring parish councils objected to the plan. Iver Parish Council objected to the proposal because it would have a “harmful impact on the character of the area.” Fulmer Parish Council said: “Roads around the site are narrow and unsuited to commercial vehicles.”

A previous planning application, which included more than 1,000 homes, was rejected by the government last year.